Eminem Teams With Marvel's Punisher

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Slim Shady's fifth album leads to a new mission courtesy of Frank Castle.

By Richard George

With his fifth album two weeks away, Eminem is set to once again make a play for the top of the music sales charts. But can he dominate the minds of comic book fans at the same time? Marvel and magazine XXL think so. The two publishers are teaming up for a part-print, part-digital story that will feature the hit rap artist alongside the deadly Frank Castle. The story, appropriately, is called Eminem/Punisher: Kill You.

What follows is Marvel's official press release concerning the upcoming project. You can find the cover and first art from the series, which is written by Fred Van Lente and drawn by Salvador Larroca, below. The first half of the story, which will be in print in the XXL magazine, can be found in stores today. The second half will be featured exclusively on Marvel.com.

Marvel Comics has teamed up with Eminem and XXL magazine to celebrate his anticipated upcoming album Relapse with an all-new story featuring the renowned rapper and Marvel's notorious vigilante, The Punisher, in Eminem/Punisher: Kill You.

Back from a three-year hiatus, Eminem is set to grace two XXL covers posing as The Punisher for the magazine's June issue on stands May 5, two weeks before his fifth solo album, Relapse, hits stores May 19.

A special collector's edition, the magazine also includes the first part of an exclusive collaboration between XXL, Shady and Marvel Comics -- Eminem/Punisher: Kill You -- a special edition Punisher comic book starring Eminem and created by Marvel Comics.

This all new story written by Fred Van Lente (Amazing Spider-Man) with art by Salvador Larroca (Invincible Iron Man) takes place in Detroit after Eminem performs on stage and gets involved in a conflict with The Punisher and his old foe Barracuda. The first half of the story will be featured as a bonus eight page special edition comic printed in the June issue of XXL magazine, with the eight page conclusion available exclusively on Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited (www.marvel.com/eminem) for free starting May 5th.

"When we learned that Eminem is a fan and collector of Marvel comics, we could only imagine what would happen if The Punisher and Slim Shady met up in the Marvel Universe," said Marvel's Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada. "This was a unique partnership and the team had a blast working with Eminem and incorporating the rapper into the Marvel fold."

For fans of the Punisher, Eminem and those wanting to own a part of the action, visit your local newsstand to purchase the magazine on May 5, 2009 and then be sure to visit www.marvel.com/eminem to experience the second part of the story.

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